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Wednesday, December 2, 2009

"while you were napping" Christmas Tree Skirt Tutorial

THIS IS A 1-2 NAP PROJECT (ABOUT 2 HOURS). depends on your child:)
Materials needed:
Scissors
Felt (I prefer wool blend) 1-2 yards (total) of varying colors.
hot glue and/or sewing machine (this entire thing can be made either way or a mixture of both)
ruler/tape measure
large paper (newsprint, etc and you can tape pieces together if neccessary) and marker
*optional: pinking shears

What we will be doing first is to figure out the size of each "gored" piece (triangles that are sewn together to make a circle). Its like a slice of pie... and we need the dimensions so you can make a template for cutting out the pieces to make your skirt.1. figure out a rough estimate of what you want the circumference of your circle/skirt to be. I used a fabric tape measure to make one. 2. create the "circle" on the floor and then measure the diameter of the circle (I did mine with a long ruler, you could use a tape measure, etc).instructions above: draw out a little diagram, then divide your circumference and diameter in half. keep these measurements and move to the step below.If the number you got after dividing your circumference in two is not easily divided into 4 (i.e. I got circ.=62, then I divided it by 2 and got 31, but that doesn't divide into 4 (or more) easily so I rounded up to 32. So, Now to make the piece of "pie" you have your sides (diameter /2) and the top (1/2circ. divided by 4 or more). See diagram below.The next instructions are written above. just click on the photo to enlarge it. After making this template, then use it to cut out 8 "slices of pie" out of varying colors of felt. I stuck to greens, gray, and creme.Then cut out some decorative stripes. I used my pinking shears to make the edges interesting. Then SEW or HOT GLUE the strips onto each slice of pie.After you have adhered the stripes, sew or glue each piece of the christmas tree skirt pie together. i put wrong sides together when i sewed that way there would be a ridge between each piece. ** leave an opening between the first and last triangles so that you can open up the skirt and put it around the trunk!Once you have sewed them all together, cut a circle out of the center (big enough to fit your trunk). Hot glue the cut threads so they don't unravel.You can either leave it as is, pink the edges of the whole thing, or proceed as follows...first trim all the strips that are hanging over the edge. Then either free-hand some scalloped edging, or make a template on paper. then trace onto the felt.I free-handed as you can see. I am too impatient and have limited time. (I had to use a few strips, so i just overlapped them when adding a new one.)Then hot-glue or sew the scallops round the circumference of the skirt! It would probably be cute to do another row of scallops too... in a contrasting color... hmmm...
put it around the tree!!!voila! too bad i have that cord showing in the photo!!!! ugly! if you have any questions email me at kaytea81(at)gmail(dot)com. Happy Christmas tree skirt making!!